It is the first day of summer but Trevor Davis can find no solace in that. His wife has divorced him, taking custody of their two teenage daughters, and his San Francisco real estate company is bankrupt – a victim of the 2008 sub-prime mortgage fiasco. Trevor would normally seek refuge on a tennis court but events have conspired to deny him even this simple pleasure. Before the day is out, Trevor must undertake a spontaneous and uncertain overseas trip, a journey he hopes will be the first step towards some measure of redemption.

Set during the opening days of Wimbledon, when an otherwise ordinary men’s singles match seems incapable of ending, Chance to Break bridges the aftermath of this century’s Great Recession with the mid-1970s economic malaise that permeated Trevor’s high school years in Oxford and the dark days of occupied France that defined his parents’ youth.

This is the story of one man’s courage in the face of past failure and present adversity, of trying not to succumb to defeat, even when victory seems lost.

Author Owen Prell lives in California, USA and is a dramatic writer and an entertainment lawyer. He has written work for both stage and screen, including his documentary film, Finding Nico, about his quest to get to know his godfather, a disgraced former Hollywood B-movie actor who may or may not have lived with Marilyn Monroe. Owen was inspired to write this book after watching (on television) the now-famous first round men’s singles match played at Wimbledon between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in 2010. He says: “The experience of a seemingly ordinary tennis match that stubbornly refuses to end – lasting in fact over three days – seemed an apt metaphor for life itself’”. Owen will be travelling to London to promote the book once it is published, especially during Wimbledon 2018.

3 reviews for Chance to Break

Rated 5 out of 5

Roger Sedarat, author of “Foot Faults: Tennis Poems”–April 20, 2018

A classic story of individual struggle informed by the joys and frustrations of tennis, reading this breakout novel is like watching the best of matches.

An artfully written novel, Chance to Break is contemporary and insightful. It offers many pleasures.

Rated 5 out of 5

Walter Kirn, author of “Up in the Air” and “Blood Will Out”–April 20, 2018

This rueful novel about love and ageing has a peculiar flavor that’s all its own, a tender, troubled, aching masculinity that’s altogether modern and memorable. This is a singular work of comic heartbreak that offers pleasure and wisdom in equal measure.